Collapsible boat



Feb. 24, R J H. HUDSON COLLAPSIBLE BOAT Filed June 21, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY ile Jun 2 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I ("TO/FIVE) Patented Feb." 24, 1931;

TTES.

Brennan -.TQ H1 I HARRINGTON Henson, onMUzA'rFArzr a-mma 1 coL nPsIB n BOAT npplication-filedlune 21, 192s, Serial No. 287,246, and in GreatBritain October 10, 1927.

This invention relates to collapsible boats of the kind having a keel and sides comprising two separate parts hinged together, one of said parts being hinged, in each case, to

said keel.

- Such boats have previously been proposed but so far as I know have never been brought into use and the proposed constructions havenot been such as to enable substantially large 7 boats ofjsay or 25,feet length tobe constructed;

The present invention has for its object to provide an improved construction which will enable strong seaworthy'boats to be construct.

1-5 ed to serve as yachts dinghies,.ships lifeboats, and the like. V

It is an object of the invention therefore to provide a collapsible boat-having a keel and false stem and a false stern post. movable "2o relatively thereto, the, folding sides being hinged to said keel. and to said false stem or stern post or both. r

It is a further object of the invention to provide a boat having sides which are foldable about. a bilge line in which the bottom sides are hingedly connected to the keel and to a false stem and a false stern post, and the top sides are bingedly connected to said bottom sides. a

It is a further object of the invention to provide in conjunction with the keel a stem and stern postrigidly secured thereto and a flexible false stem and'a flexible false stern postv movable relatively theretoand adapted to be rigidly held in one or more predee termin'ed positions.

-lt isa further object of the invention to provide a collapsible boat having hinged joints protected by canvas or other fabric, means being providedwhereby the said fabric is completely covered when the boat is in the erect position and is caused to be extended without folds within the joint to .prevent chafing or wear.

It is a further object of the inventionato provide a collapsible boat'in' which the 'fold-' ing'sides areadapted to flexduring the folding movement, the sides being provided with stiffening battens'lying along lines which re-[ main straight during the flexing movement.

These and other'obj'ect s of the invention will be made clear'from the following description and set forthinthe appended claims. The .inventionis. illustrated in' 'one form of execution" in the accompanying drawings which showaships-dinghy, but it is'to be understood that this is" by way of example only, andthat the invention can be readily applied tolifeboats or any other form'of boat usually requiring to be readily transportable, and at the same time to be'suitablystrong duringuse; 'g g In the accompanying drawings, Fig.1 illustrates acentral sectional view ofthe dinghy, Fig. 2 beinga plan. Fig. 3 is a transverse section to Fig. 1, the boat being hitherto illustrated in the erected or opened position. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectionsimilar to Fig. 3 when the boat is collapsed, and Figs. 5 and 6'show on an enlarged scale one'of the joints. 7Q

Turningnow to the drawings, the form here illustrated comprises a strong keel 1, stem 2 and; stern post 3, of rigid solid construction. The sides of theboatcomprise top sides 4 and bottom sides 5 hinged together by a series of hinges 6 running along the bilge line 7, the bilge line being indicated in broken lines in Fig. 1 where thejoint-between the-side's is not plainly visible. ,The' sides 4:, 5 are formed of flexible solid material such as thin planking, or ply wood such as is already known in connection with; the construction of boats, or steel plate,'and the bottom sides 5 are hinged to'the keel l by a series of hinges 8 lying along straight lines throughout the length ofthe keel. Forwardly and. aft of the keel, however, they are hinged by continuous series of Small hinges 9, 10 to a false stem 11 and a false stern post 12 which in the form shown are mounted on or comprise flexible plates 13, 14 carried underthe shouladapted to be drawn up solidly against the stern post 3 by means of a screw20 engaging in a bracket 21 attached. to the false stern post and the false stem may be arranged to be similarly drawn up. With smallboats, however, it may be found sufficient to have a single screw 20 at the stern as owing to the curvature of the bilge line joint and the resilience of the sides, the false stem and false stern post must move together. In this case, i1) toggle stirrup 50 may be employedat the In collapsing the boat from the position illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the stirrup 5O is releasedand the screw 20 is rotated to allow or causethe false-stern. post. 12. to -move away from the stern post 3 which it naturally does under the resilience of the plate 14: and of the sides. The false stern post thereupon moves out aft to the position indicated in broken linesin Fig. 1. At the same time the top sides 4 fall, or are folded, inwardly in Fig. 3 about the hinges 6 and the false stem under the movement of the sides moves: forwardly to the'position shown-in broken lines in Fig.1; The bottom sides: 5 tend to-fold upwardly about the hinges 8 as the false stern post is moved outwardly and by. easing by hand the movement ofthe sides 4;, 5si-1nultaneously with the actuation of the screw 20, the boat can readily be collapsed into the fiat posi' tion shown in Fig. 4. 1

In the form shown thebottom sides 5 are strengthened by battens or stiifeners 30 formed with enlarged heads to. which the plates of the hinges G are attached. The battens or stiffeners inthe caseof the. boat illustrated, which, as previously stated, has the shape of an ordinary dinghy are set. generally in the form'shown and lie over portions of the sides which remain straight lines in the collapsed" and open positions of the. boat. Thus the twist ordeflection given to'the bottom: side during the process of erectionruns perpendicularly to the battens.

.An examination of the drawing will show that the bottom side 5 tends to be twisted round thepoint of its attachment to the front of the keel in. its forward half and to be curved more or less cylindrically about a line running athwaIrtthe boat in its after part, there being an unstrained orneutral zone A running obliquely'in F ig. 2 between the ends of the two sets of battens.

In the caseo-fa lifeboat, however, where the stem and stern are similarly shaped the strain in the sides would take a different form, and the battens 30 would be generally similar in arrangement in the fore andafter parts of the boat, and would radiatefrom points near the foremost and aftermost ends of the keel.

It is to be understood of course that the 1 top sides 4 and bottom sides 5 although curved considerably in the erect position as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, become practically plane in the collapsed position, as clearly indicated in Fig. 4, and the curve of'the bilge joint 7 is designed so that the movement of the sides. 1 r

from the erect to the collapsed positions involves asteady straightening of the sides and can be effected without severe stress or over strain either of the sides or hinges at any part. Inthe erect positionthe sides are further stiffened at midships by stretchers-3'1 whichv may be hinged to the keel at 32 and may carry canvas bands 33. attached to their outerends and adapted to form seats when the st-retchers are extended. Floor boards 34 are hinged to the upper part of the keel andlie upon the bottom sides 521s. show-115m; Fig. 3 when the boat is erect; when the boat is collapsed: they are rocked to: a-verticali central position and lie between the top. sides 4 as shownin'Fi-g. 4.. 7

An important feature of the construction consists in covering all the joints withcanvas on their-0uter sides and in protecting the said canvas of thebo'atagainst chafing or. other damage when the boat'i-serect: and use. r

In Figs. '3 and't the thick lines 36 indicate canvas coverings forthe hinges 8', the edges of the canvas being engaged behind batten-s 37 attached to the keel and fender boards 38 attachedtoi the bottom sides, the latter con1 ing into; close contact. with the battens. 37 when theboat is erect'as clearly shown iii-Fig. 3 in order to protect the canvas from accidental'damage. Inthe bilge. line'jointsxa siinilarcanvas covering 40 is provided which is held-between fender boards 41 andwl2, Figs. 5 and 6, the board 42: having a bead orprojecti'on- 43 adaptedto fill the space between the ends of the boards 4, 5 to. deflect the-canvas into the curve shown in Fig. 3. so! as to prevent it from folding or rubbing or from being caught inthe 'hingethe fender boards 41,43 being formed with complementary engaging faces to: close the joint giving-access to the canvas 40: as clearly. shown in Fig. 5 Thus the attached sides of the fabric are so to speak, let inthe wooden structure so as to be normally protected when the boat. is in use.

In the forms shown the false stem 11 is held rigidly against thesteni 21in the-open'posi-tion by meansof a toggle stirrup engag ing over a pair of l10OkS 5i1 attached to the false stem and hinged: cover plates. 52 forming a fore-deck. are folded over-the. bow. A usual fitting'53 and footstep 54' for a mast are provided, and a centre board 55 may be let in the centre of the keel. The rudder may be attached to bearings 56, 57 the bearing 56$ being rigid: with the stem 3 and-the bearing 57 being attachable to the falsestern post.

An engine may be arranged to be detach- ,ably carried in which case the propeller shaft may be permanently mounted in the keeliin a suitable watertight bearing at its after end. Obviously the lnventlon is not limited to the precise form of construction lllustrated,

many details of which will be subject to variation at the discretion of the boat builder in accordance with the size, shape andstrength of the boat to wh ch the invention is apphed.

I claim q e 1. In a collapsible boat, a'hinged joint, a

fabric strip externally covering said hinged joint, a fender board covering said fabric strip on one jointed member,a fender board covering said fabric strip on the other jointed member, one of said fender boards having a bead or protuberance to engage said fabric strip when the boat is in the erect position to cause it to lie extended without folds within the joint.

2. In a collapsible boat, a keel, a flexible stem jointed thereto, a pair of bottom sides hinged to said keel and to said stem, a pair of top sides hinged to said bottom sides and ex- I tending into juxtaposition with said stem, and a pair of cover plates jointed together and to said topsides to serve as a collapsible fore deck.

3. In a collapsible boat, a keel, a flexible false stem, a flexible false stern post, folding sides hinged to said keel and said posts, said sides being adapted to flex during foldmg.

4. In a collapsible boat,-a keel, a flexible false stem, a flexible false stern post, folding sides hinged to said keel and said posts, said sides being adaptedto flex during folding and having stiffening battens lying along lines which remain straight during the flexing movement.

5. In a collapsible boat, a keel, a pair of bottom sides hinged to said keel, a pair of top sides hinged to said bottom sides, said bottom sides overhanging said keel and being .jointedly connected together, said topsides being foldable inwardly of said bottom sides,

8. In acollapsible boat, a movable false stem, a movable false stern post, folding sides hingedly connected to said false stemand stern post, said foldable sides comprising two separate parts hingedly joined together, with 70. one. of said parts hingedly connected to said heel, and means to lock the stem and stern post in predetermined positions.

. In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

RI'CHARD'JOHN HARRINGTON HUDSON. '75 i l and said folded sides being thereafter mov-' able inwardly together to lie vertically of 1 said keel.

' 6. In a collapsible boat, a keel, a pair of bottom sides jointed to said keel and having overhanging parts connected to each other for flexing movement, a pair of topsides hinged to said bottom sides along bilge lines, 

